Story+2005-08-11+Seattle,+WA

´´Welcome, Seattlelites....how you doing? (cheers) thanks....nice to be here, nice to be here in Seattle and I guess my only request is if I can get as much quiet as I can tonight, I´ll be able to give you my best so enjoy yourselves....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Living Proof´´**

´´(Bruce´s son Evan brings the guitar to his father)....Thanks, oh!....this is my oldest boy (chuckles)....thank you, Evan, that´s Evan (chuckles)....I got him on the road with Dad this week, I got him to myself....it costs me a hundred bucks everytime he comes out (chuckles) yes, yes (chuckles) ain´t that the way it goes (chuckles) alright, I´m gonna do this for him tonight in honor of his guest appearance (chuckles) don´t clap too much, it´ll cost me two hundred bucks next time....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Long Time Comin´´´**

´´Yeah, thanks, he, uh, he just told me that the, uh, the actual lyrics for that last verse should be ´I´m not gonna fuck it up too bad this time´....should be ´not too bad,´ I was getting a little cocky, a little smug in that last verse (chuckles) alright, let me see, alright, I´m gonna try and play this one, I haven´t played this one before, I´m trying to do something every night I don´t, I haven´t done before so, uh....uh, I´m not sure I can play this one ´cause the chords change real fast (chuckles) and uh....but we´ll, we´ll see, you know, uh, this is for the gal that, she asked for this out back today but, uh, she, she comes to all the shows, I don´t know how she affords, she comes to all the shows all the time (chuckles) but this is for you, sweetheart, alright, let me see....(starts playing the fast intro) so far so good (chuckles)....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Be True´´ (following ´´Long Time Comin´´´)**

´´(cheers) (chuckles) Thank you, my friends, thank you.....yes, oh, remain seated, yes, oh, stand if you must but remain seated (chuckles) alright, let me see, I´ve been playing this, I played this one the last two nights but I´m gonna play tonight because this is, uh, it´s been fun.... but, uh, this thing, this is kind of another, this one should´ve got on a record, it´s just a crime, a damn crime, I don´t know what I was, what I was thinking, I was under the influence of all those drugs I was taking....that´s what it was, I should´ve put those damn drugs away, that was the problem....I actually I´ve, I´ve never taken any drugs but, uh, but I´m going to be taking them very soon, that´s my (chuckles) that´s my plan, I´ve got it all figured out, another few years, the kids are out of the house, the drugs come along....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Frankie´´ (following ´´Be True´´)**

´´I just got back from Europe....where I tried to explain to them that there´s an enermous debate going on in the United States about who came first, the Man or the monkey....and, uh ....I tried to explain to them that the monkey doesn´t vote....uh....that bodes bad for the monkey (chuckles) uh....they, they´re pretty sure that the monkey came first and they´re also sure that they know where the monkey is....uh....(cheers) I tried to explain to them that, uh.... under the currect conditions here in the U.S.A that many of their favorite American imports are, are finished, you know (?)....everywhere you go the Flintstones, very, very popular in Europe all throughout the continent and I tried to explain to them that the ambiguous relationship between Barney and Fred would, would no longer allow the Flintstones to get made in the current climate, cultural climate....uh....uh....it´s great to be home (chuckles).... (....) Ah, we´ve come a long way, baby....and we´re going back.....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Part Man Part Monkey´´**

´´(?)(chuckles) weird things go on when the light´s out on stage, strange, strange things, alright, as I, as I make my way through the world I´m often on the street and people come up to me and always ask the same damn question, you know, ´What´s it, you know, what, what´s it like to be the Boss, you know, what´s that like, you know?´ and uh....so, yeah, yes ....usually I, I, uh, I usually answer with some, some sort of humble bullshit, you know....it´s worked out for me pretty good so far, I´m sticking with it, you know but, uh, you know, I go ´It´s no big deal´ or ´It´s great,´ uh, ´Thanks, you know, it´s, it´s a job´ or, you know, lying through my teeth, you know, lying through my teeth, uh, uh, so, but, I guess, you kind of usually don´t want anybody to find out like, you know, (?) what it´s really, really like, you know, it´s like (chuckles) and, uh, but being that, you know, it´s just us here tonight, I figured, you know, I´ll (chuckles)....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Ain´t Got You´´**

´´There it is....now you know....(strums the guitar and whispers:) (?) you´re in there somewhere (chuckles)...´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Highway Patrolman´´ (following ´´Ain´t Got You´´)**

´´Thank you, alright, let´s see what we got here.....we got the crew, oh yeah, takes four man to handle this, handle this baby right here, four men, four big men, strong men, that´s right (chuckles) this is the eBay-piano, kid, that´s right, oh, alright, somebody, somebody´s husband asked for this thing, I, I´ve played it once before, I´ll play it again ´cause it´s, it´s, this was actually kind of a little lullaby, I guess, uh....I think came out on a b-side, I don´t, I don´t really remember, alright (sings to himself) here we go....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Two for the Road´´**

´´Thank you....thanks a lot....yeah, I was, uh, I was brought Catholic in this little neighbourhood and, uh....we had kind of, uh, there was this little L-shaped block, I don´t know if you can see that, but we had, uh, my grandmother´s house was here and I lived in there with my mom and my dad and my grandparents and my sister and then there was a field and there was the, the nuns´ convent, I spent quite a bit of time there, unfortunately, and, uh, the priest´s rectory, then there was the Catholic church right on the corner and across the street was my aunt´s house, was, my couple of cousins in it and next door to my aunt´s was my other aunt and uncle´s with three sort of grown cousins and, and then two houses down was my great-grandmother´s house, uh, uh, with another aunt, I believe, and, and that was the Irish side of the family....now, across the street, across the street was my mother´s mother, my grandmother and, uh, uh, and then her daughter and my uncle and, and two, uh, and another cousin.....so we all lived merrily in this little, this was like, uh, it was very unusual and, uh, uh, you know, in the, in the center of all was the church, I saw every wedding and, and every funeral, I saw more people carted away in a black Cadillac by the time I was 10 than I care to remember but, uh, and also the weddings, we´d run down and we, we, we´d pick up the rice from the weddings and we would take it home and we´d save it, then when there was another wedding we would go down and throw it....then we´d pick it up again and take it home and, and, that´s what, that was entertainment, that, that passed for a pre-PlayStation-entertainment....but uh (chuckles) you know, and, uh....but it was sort of an interesting, you know, I, I, I kind of had hard feelings about it till about, uh, uh, six months ago and, uh (chuckles) and then I figured ´Well, what the hell!´ you know (chuckles) uh, but it was, for a child, you grew up in the shadow of, of, of, of, of all those, that, that institution and it was filled with sort of mystery and terror and there was also great beauty in it and, and enormous poetry, uh, and, uh, that was, it was, uh, it, it sort of worked its way into all my songs and so I suppose that they have the, the last laugh over you, of course now I, I go over to the nuns´ convent and now they give me beer and let me watch the ballgame....so.... celebrity (?) what can I tell you? (?) the perks, baby, that´s the perks, you know (chuckles) so, uh, it´s a different day but, uh (chuckles) but I was, wrote a lot of songs about parents and children on this record and so I, I, I thought ´Well, you know, uh, uh, I´m gonna try and write something from the standpoint of Jesus as someone´s child, you know, as someone´s, and, and what it´s like to have our children choose their own destiny as they do and, of course, you are along for the merry ride wherever it goes but, uh, uh, this is called ´Jesus Was an Only Son´.... (....) At His mother´s feet....the first thing you realise when you have your kids is that.... there´s this feeling that appears in your gut that there´s nothing you wouldn´t do, no train you wouldn´t step in front of to keep them safe....and that that´s a life sentence.... (....) Will pierce your dreams this night....now I always figured that....if our choices are given weight and meaning by the things that we sacrifice, how you choose some part of life and you give up something else....I always figured that Jesus had to be thinking about what He was gonna lose....He must´ve been thinking that Galilee is really nice this time of year.... that little bar down by the beach where He´s sure they need somebody to manage the place ....and Mary Magdalene, she could tend bar....and you don´t have to quit the preaching, you could just save it for the weekends....and they could have a bunch of kids....and get to see the sun fall on their face and get to see the air fill their lungs at night when they´re sleeping.... and get to see the next day....and the next day....and the next day....and the next day....and the next day....and the next day....and the next day.... ´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Jesus Was an Only Son´´**

´´Thanks a lot, I´m changing the setlist....that´s why I´m standing here, see if I have any jokes, uh....alright, uh, you´ve heard all that I got, mine are so old....you know, the Italian guy and an Irish guy sitting in the bar and, uh, this connects to the last song, actually, there is, there´s gonna be a connection somewhere, and, uh, he says, uh, ´Oh, Italians are so stupid´ and the Italian says ´Hey, hold on pal, you know, what do you mean?´ ´Oh, you´re so stupid´ ´Oh yeah?´ ´Yeah, you don´t even know what Easter is´ - stop me if you´ve heard it (chuckles)(?) we´ll bet´, you know, and a hundred bucks goes down on the bar, a bartender puts the glasses over the, over the things and, uh, the Italian guy gets up on the bar and he goes, uh, ´Easter´ - a crowded bar, everybody´s gathered around - ´Easter is when Jesus Christ, uh, rises from the dead, rolls away the stone´ - everybody´s going ´Oh, he´s got it going, he´s´ - ´And if he sees his shadow´....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´This Hard Land´´**

´´Thanks a lot, thank you.....we, uh....we carry with us, we carry with us the seeds of creation, to build good things and, uh, send a lot of love out into the world, and we carry with us the seeds of our own destruction and, uh, I guess that´s what makes life interesting ....that was the whole, uh, bargain, that was that whole East of Eden thing, you know, that was the (?) punishment, I guess, you know, but I always figured that the, I´ve been telling the folks that, you know, the whole Eden, you know, that whole being cast out of Eden, that was a set-up and, uh, I mean I figured it goes like this (?) there´s a garden, you know, ´You can touch everything but don´t touch that´....when has that ever worked? (chuckles) I mean, you know, your first date, you can touch everything but don´t touch that, that´s what you wanna touch (chuckles) people, you know, they marry to touch ´em (chuckles) back in the day (chuckles) I mean, uh, you know, so there´s the tree, there´s the apple tree, you can touch all the things but you can´t touch that one and, uh, I mean how many times can you walk around a garden? there´s a limited amount of times you can walk around a garden, then you´re gonna come back to the same place and, of course, then that becomes the interesting tree, ´Why can´t I touch that one?´ Plus that´s the tree with the talking snake....come on, that´s the most fun tree, that´s the fun tree (chuckles) so, uh, it´s made life more interesting and of course dangerous so this is ´The Hitter´....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´The Hitter´´**

´´Thank you....thanks, I lived in, uh, California for, uh, three or four years and I like the West Coast, you know, and, uh....wrote a series of songs set in the Central Valley and down along the border, this song was, uh, kind of a sequel to that group of songs and, uh, every year there´s hundreds of people that die trying to come across our southern border, they die of dehydration in the deserts and, uh, they die from drowning in the rivers and in the backs of vans, uh.....all this to come here for the toughest and the dirtiest work that we have so as I´ve been saying each night we, we don´t really need vigilantes on the border, we need a humane immigration policy....at any rate, this is a song that, uh, I wrote this song backwards, it starts with the, uh, from the perspective of a body at the bottom of the river to the man walking across the desert, in the last verse he reaches the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Brownsville, Texas, this is called ´Matamoros Banks´....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Matamoros Banks´´**

´´Thank you, thanks a lot....alright, partners, partners....yes, yes, this is for Ed, here we go...´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´Growin´ Up´´**

´´Thanks a lot....what is it?....it´s your birthday?....no, I can´t go putting it on, man, that´s where I draw the line (chuckles) this is not the, this ain´t a Jimmy Buffett show, I can´t (?)I´m gonna send this, gonna send this over to you, thank you very much....I´m, I´m just not that relaxed guy (chuckles) anyway, I wanna thank everybody for coming out to the show tonight, thanks a lot....I appreciate it and, uh....(?) 50, 51th show, I don´t know, but the audiences´ve just gotten better and better, you were just really a, uh, lovely audience tonight, I appreciate it very much....uh....it´s great to be able to come out here and play like this, it´s something I really enjoy and it takes a dedicated crowd so I give you my thanks and uh..... also wanna give a shout out to the West-Seattle Foodbank, they´re in the, they´re in the crowd tonight, they´re in the house....they´re here in Seattle, they´re working to eliminate hunger and secure and distribute food, they try to educate people about good nutrition and increase public awareness of the hunger that exists around us and they´re out there helping the struggling citizens of Seattle so please on your way out check them out and, uh, you know, they could use your time and your support in any way, I´ll do this for them and, and for you, thank you very much....´´
 * 11.08.05 Seattle, WA, intro to ´´The Promised Land´´**

//Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi//